


All For a Drunken Sailor

by hibiren



Series: Jay's Gladnis Collection [26]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Banter, Bargaining, Boats and Ships, Dirty Talk, Drunken Flirting, Drunkenness, Interrogation, M/M, Mild Blood, Pirate Captain Ignis, Pirates, Questioning, Random Encounters, Rope Bondage, Sailing, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-10-10 18:46:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20532809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hibiren/pseuds/hibiren
Summary: "What will we do with a drunken sailor? What will we do with a drunken sailor? What will we do with a drunken sailor, early in the morning?"Ignis asks himself that question as he discovers a stowaway onboard theRegaliaand demands answers.





	1. What will we do (with a drunken sailor)?

**Author's Note:**

> WOOHOO this AU fic is finally officially in the works! I had the idea a while back that just slammed into me out of nowhere of "oh my god imagine Ignis as a pirate captain" which devolved into "oh my god PIRATE GLADNIS" and here we are... thank you gladnis discord friends for letting me rant about pirate Ignis!
> 
> for anyone interested, [here's the pics of my original Pirate Ignis cosplay](https://twitter.com/duskynebula/status/1161129784337948672) and [a bonus second set](https://twitter.com/duskynebula/status/1161323344811233280)! And there's more to come because... the pirate weekend at our local renaissance fair is soon and GUESS WHAT I'M DOING... heheheheh

“There's something you need to see, Captain Ignis, sir.”

Not something that Ignis wanted to hear so early in the morning. He'd hardly had time to get a single swallow of his coffee down before the news hit him.

“It better be bloody important,” grumbled Ignis, pushing the locks on his door aside to step out onto the deck to meet eyes with the one who called for him. Even though the man shrank back visibly at Ignis' sharp glare, the crewman continued,

“Sir, there's… a stowaway belowdecks. Sleeping against the crates. What would you have us do, Captain?”

A _stowaway?!_ No self-respecting man, woman, or creature would _ever_ think to stowaway on the _Regalia._ Not if they valued their lives. If anything, before throwing them overboard as shark food, Ignis wanted to know what made the poor soul attempt to freeload off his hard-working crew.

“Might be time for a keelhauling, gentlemen, fetch me some rope and brace yourselves. Take me to our… guest.”

“Aye-aye, sir. This way.”

Sure enough, belowdecks, slumped over with one arm braced against a barrel - a stocky brown-haired man laid _snoring,_ sleeping soundly as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Behind Ignis, a few stray crewmates watched with wide, interested eyes. It wasn’t very often that their Captain lost his temper, but when he did, heavens help the victims of his wrath.

The thud of Ignis’ boots against the wood as he approached didn’t seem to alert the stowaway at all. Ignis felt eyes upon his back as he unsheathed one of his daggers from their place at his belt and leaned close, close enough to smell the scent of spiced rum in the man’s breath. A _drunken_ stowaway.

The moment the flat edge of cold steel met the stranger’s neck, the snoring ceased and his eyes opened. Amber met emerald, and it took everything Ignis had to retain his composure while gripping a handful of the man’s hair in his gloved fist, baring his neck ever so slightly more, and a single drop of blood fell down the point of Ignis’ dagger, staining the well-kept silver with beautiful crimson.

“Good morning,” Ignis hissed, the greeting harsh as he narrowed his eyes and peered down at the stranger whose face was becoming increasingly familiar the longer he stared into those honey-colored eyes, “I can see you slept… quite well.”

“Wait… don’t I know you? I’ve seen you before, haven’t I - hey..!”

The stranger’s words halted when Ignis bared his dagger down just slightly more, turning the flat edge inward.

“Do you know where you are?” Ignis asked, diverting the subject skillfully.

“I… no, wait. This looks like a ship.” Although he remained still, the man risked a glance around, affirming his suspicions that he indeed wasn’t where he must have thought he was. “Oh, _fuck.”_

“Hm. That’s quite right, dear stranger. You find yourself stowing away on the _Regalia_, my pride and joy. Miles away from the nearest port. Your clothes indicate you must’ve stowed away during our last docking at Cape Caem, so… perhaps if you plead your case successfully, I might return you home - for a price, of course. Pirates never work for free.”

Eyes wide, the man spluttered in response, “Look! I didn’t mean to fall asleep here, I swear. I work the docks at the Cape. Some friends and I were finishing up carrying the last of these barrels aboard when we’d stopped for a drink. Or… two, or four… I don’t remember. We must’ve finished the job late and I… I guess I fell asleep moving the last barrel. Shit, I’m sorry!”

“Sorry doesn’t suffice. You know the crime for stowing away, do you not?”

As Ignis spoke, he tilted his head and loosened his grip from the man’s hair to gesture behind him, and a loose coil of rope swiftly appeared, thanks to one of the crewmates.

“Gentlemen, please leave me to work alone. Do not go belowdecks unless you are summoned, no matter what else you may hear.”

A hesitant chorus of “aye, sir,” echoed from the nervous crew as they one by one disappeared back up the stairs to make their ways back to the main deck and attend to their duties.

Once they were alone, Ignis frowned more fully and hovered over the stranger, hoping the menacing glare he was giving behind his glasses was enough to intimidate the larger man into speaking.

“Give me your name.”

“...Amicitia. Gladiolus Amicitia. Whatever you’re gonna do to me, just… don’t kill me. My younger sister’s back at the Cape, she’d kill me a second time over if she found out I’ve made a huge mistake.”

“Indeed?” Ignis paused at the mention of family, but didn’t let it sway his tone as he continued, “For purposes of this discussion, you will address me as Captain Scientia. Am I clear?”

“Aye-aye,” said Gladiolus, with just a hint of dry wit in his tone.

With an order of “hold still,” Ignis set to work with the length of rope, binding Gladiolus’ hands and legs together in quick but tight knots to prevent any escape. As his hands worked, he was swift to check for any hidden weapons as well; having been practiced himself in the art of easy escape. Perhaps it was because Gladiolus was still recovering from his drunken bout, but he let out a chuckle when Ignis’ hands found their way into his pants pockets to inspect their contents.

“Bet you’ll find a weapon in there, if you try hard enough,” teased the captive, but he was met with a sharp scowl that made him wince as if he’d been struck. The slow trail of blood down his neck by now was drying, but seemed ready to reopen if Ignis so much as looked at him with enough malice.

“Silence. Let me finish.” Sure enough, there was nothing of interest in Gladiolus’ pockets aside from a broken watch, a few rusted coins, and the end of a wax seal bearing an image that must have been a family crest. Whether it belonged to him or not, Ignis couldn’t say. “I was going to save this question for later but I have to know if we’re going to continue this discussion like civil men. A man matching your description confronted me in the Cape Caem tavern two nights ago and said some… _very unsavory_ things to me while waving around a glass of ale. Do you remember that? You didn’t realize just who you were talking to, did you?”

Pausing to think, Gladiolus frowned as the memories seemed to return to him. “Didn’t realize I was, uh… dirty talking a pirate. No less a pirate captain. You, uh, didn’t look it when I saw you. Your shirt was less, uh, buttoned.”

“I was disguised, you know. As Captain, I’m certainly allowed to humor myself with a drink every now and then, don’t you think? But what I don’t enjoy is being subjected to unwanted advances from strangers. Yet here we are, I’ve got you all tied up and at my mercy, _just like you wanted,_ if I recall.”

Spluttering, Gladiolus’ entire face turned dark red. “W-Well! I might’ve said all that, but…”

“You didn’t mean it?” Ignis finished, “Or you did, but you’re too ashamed to admit it now that you’re sobering up? Regardless, I think you owe me an apology, Amicitia. Do me a favor and spare me the effort of having to torture it out of you. It would be exhausting for both of us. I’ll make a deal with you. Until I feel like you’ve sufficiently apologized for your behavior, you will be my captive here on the _Regalia._ You will become part of my crew, you will receive pay when I can trust your work, and you will of course be fed and clothed with what we have aboard. I trust you know your way around a ship?”

“Of course.”

Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, Ignis set to work cleaning the blood off of his dagger while continuing his offer. “You’re welcome to refuse, of course, but then I might just send you overboard with a shirt full of rocks and watch you sink. Your choice, Amicitia.”

“I wanna live, y’know. And… I wanna see my sister, too. Can’t I at least let her know I’ve, um… ‘changed jobs,’ if I can put it that way?”

Ignis smiled and used his cleaned dagger to slice the bounds at Gladiolus’ wrists free. With his other hand outstretched, the Captain mused, “If you accept my offer, then by all means, you may write to her as much as you’d like. I may be a pirate, but I’m more than capable of being a gentleman. I’m no tyrant.”

Knowing he was accepting an offer he couldn’t refuse, Gladiolus took Ignis’ hand in his and offered a weary smile.

“Welcome aboard, Amicitia. I’ll have my eye on you, so just know that if you try anything foolish, there _will_ be punishment. And not the kind you’d enjoy, trust me. I know _all about_ your tastes.”

“Just call me Gladio,” muttered the reluctant sailor, “Just… how much did I tell you that night?”

“I suppose that’s for me to know and for you to find out, one of these nights… that is, if you can successfully earn my trust.”


	2. What He'd Done (with the drunken sailor)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignis reminisces about his next plans, and has some very important revelations about himself and Gladiolus in the meantime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day! I thought, since I had some time today, what better to do than upload another chapter of my Pirate Gladnis AU? It's somewhat backstory heavy but quite a bit of the details came from musings that Alec, deimoscosplay, and kozumesenpaii and I all had about their lives as pirates :D enjoy!

Earning Ignis’ trust was a feat in itself - but Gladiolus had a long battle ahead if he were to earn the crew’s trust as well. Ignis knew that well and planned to judge his own responses to the new sailor by how quickly he was able to adapt to the variety of duties onboard the _Regalia_. Sure enough - once he’d sobered - Gladiolus was quite the useful hand to have around. Ignis quickly realized just how much stronger he was than most of the crew, so they were quick (and thankful) to leave much of the ‘heavy’ lifting with him. At least, for those of the crew that were uncomfortable with Gladiolus, they found easy conversation over sharing the usual chores.

After ensuring everything was sound on deck, Ignis disappeared into his quarters for another much-needed cup of coffee. Once everything was in order, he sat down at his desk and rolled out a large piece of parchment onto the desk’s mostly empty surface, weighing the corners down with candlestick holders so it wouldn’t unravel on him as he worked. His eyes traced the faded parchment and his fingers followed along. Today he planned to spend the day calculating their next route, and marking the territories of the various ports and rogue ships - namely the ones he was trying to avoid. Best to stay out of trouble while he was plotting the course of his _real_ search…

That one mark at the map’s far right corner still begged his attention, and he fought off the urge to drift into daydreaming; the map’s prior owner mentioned something about a lost treasure marked there, and the only reason Ignis was intrigued was that they mentioned a _ring_ as part of said treasure. That ring, if it were found, was rumored to control the seas. In the right hands, the ring’s power would favor your ship and crew for all eternity - no matter how rough the weather would strike around you, your ship would remain unsinking. In the _wrong_ hands, however… Ignis shuddered at the thought. Gods forbid the Captain of the _Chancellor_ found this information. Ignis paid quite a good price to the map’s prior owner to keep their lips sealed so he was comfortably sure that he would have a head start to finding it, at the very least, if the markings were correct.

Captain Izunia of the _Chancellor_ \- an infamous rogue ship - was more than well known to do whatever he pleased to ensure he had the upper hand in any situation he was presented with. There were days Ignis wondered if Izunia was Davy Jones incarnate. The man - was he human? - was certainly terrifying. Ignis considered himself incredibly lucky that he had only crossed paths with the rogue Captain once and lived to tell the tale. Once was enough to almost kill him, but he managed to escape thanks to quick thinking from his crew and an unlikely rescuer on the seas - the _Sylleblossom_ and her Captain, the “Pirate Queen” Lady Lunafreya Nox Fleuret. He owed her quite a bit, and remembered just how much of his treasures it had cost him for her services. _Pirates never work for free, after all,_ Ignis had thought somewhat bitterly to himself in the moment. But what were a few jewels, fabrics, or bottles of spiced rum compared to the price of his nearly-lost life? So he just swallowed his loss and thanked the Pirate Queen for her rescue and ever since that day - her ship remained just as evasive as the _Chancellor_ was mysterious.

Ignis rested his head in his hands and braced his elbows against the desk’s surface, the frown at his mouth surely wearing lines into his skin. There was still so much that needed to be done. The only thing that the Captain had managed to cross off of his list was restocking supplies, which had been taken care of - and granted him (unexpectedly) a new crewmate. If they hadn’t met at the tavern, Ignis knew he’d been more than ready to throw Gladiolus overboard. The only reason that he was still alive was…

_Oh, no._

Ignis remembered, courtesy of the painful reminder throbbing dully at the back of his head,_ yes, I’d been more intoxicated than I’d have liked. He and I, we… became _very_ well acquainted that night. But Gladiolus doesn’t seem to remember. We exchanged so many embarrassing comments, I’m rather thankful for the convenient amnesia he’s suffering. What was supposed to only last a night ended up more than that. This must be Fate directing him my way. What are the odds? I just wish I hadn’t… collided… with him in such a way first._

The burning in his face subsided only when a knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts. He’d succumbed to daydreaming after all - and he hadn’t meant to give so much time to his own musings.

“Captain, uh, Scientia, sir? Can I come in?”

Speak of the devil, Gladiolus, at the door.

“Yes, come in and close the door behind you when you do.”

A disheveled-looking Gladiolus shuffled in, the tie in his hair falling loose and his shirt seeming equally as loose, as if ready to fall off his shoulders. The flush in Ignis’ face returned, but he did his best to hide it by taking a long sip from the closest flask at the desk, not caring exactly what was in it. Brandy, of course, it _had_ to be brandy…

The captain coughed and cleared his throat, straightening himself up as Gladiolus stepped closer to his desk.

“I just… wanted to thank you. For letting me stay. I’ve already written my sister a couple letters so I’ll figure out what to do with them next time we’re close to land again.”

“Ah,” Ignis said, a weary smile forcing itself onto his distracted, tired face, “Yes, of course. You’re quite welcome. Is that all?”

“Actually,” Gladiolus started, and his own face turned somewhat pink as he continued speaking, “I had a question. Did… that night at the tavern… did we actually - ”

Ignis bolted out of his chair, knocking one of the candleholders over in his rush to prevent Gladiolus from finishing his sentence; it clattered onto the floor with a heavy, metallic _thud_ and when Gladiolus bent to pick it up, Ignis cursed himself for staring. It took a while to come back to him in full clarity, but he remembered _everything_ that happened at the tavern that night. Perhaps it was better to avoid talking of that so soon, for now.

The map on his desk curled up at the corner and Ignis sighed, removing the remaining weights at the other corners and rolling the map back up into its former shape. A voice outside called for Ignis’ attention and he took that opportunity to grab Gladiolus’ arm and pull him along outside his quarters to see exactly what all the commotion was.

A ship - no, two ships, both a good distance away, were just visible against the horizon. Ignis removed the folded telescope from his pocket and angled it against his glasses to try to catch a glimpse of their flags. Thank the gods, it wasn’t the _Chancellor_ or his fleet, but ships that bore flags he hadn’t seen in years and weren’t an entirely unpleasant sight to behold. It was the Lucis Caelum’s ships - the _Crown Jewel_ leading (captained by the elder Regis Lucis Caelum) and the _Insomnia_ following closely at its side (captained by the younger Noctis Lucis Caelum). It would be good to talk to both, especially if they had news for him.

“If they continue their approach our way, we’ll anchor here and see what the Caelums wish to share with us. It’d do some good to see some familiar faces, yes?”

The surrounding crewmen nodded in agreement before returning to their duties, and Gladiolus chimed in with, “The Caelums? More pirates?”

“Oh, yes. You’ll find the seas are… quite infested with us, I’m surprised you’re not used to such an idea after becoming one yourself.”

“I - ” Gladiolus began, but snapped his mouth closed and his brows lowered in the realization that, yes, he was indeed a pirate now. “Sorry, Captain.”

“You’ll learn to respect us one way or another,” Ignis started, and before he could stop himself he added, “Or perhaps I could teach you some respect, myself.”

“I’d like that,” Gladiolus murmured back, under his breath as someone approached, mopping, but very clearly seeming like they were more focused on eavesdropping, the way their eyes flitted back and forth between the deck and the two men.

Ignis gave the deckhand a swift nudge in the rear with his boot which sent the mop scattering across the floor; afterward he muttered back to Gladiolus, “I’m sure you would. One day, perhaps, I shall. We’ll just have to see. Now be polite, we may be having guests onboard shortly.”

“Aye-aye.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm hoping I can get this AU going with a few more chapters, it's my first time delving into pirates in writing but I've always had a fascination with pirate lore since I was young so I hope I can write something that interests everyone! ✨


End file.
